Deja Vu All Over Again

I had great hopes on Monday. The Dodgers would win the game and then go on to clinch Tuesday. Tuesday would be an evening game so we wouldn’t have to roast in the sun again. However, even though it was a beautiful day, sunny but with a light breeze, it was going to be like other post season games. It’s unexplainable but every year it seems to happen.

I came to the stadium right after I had worked all night. It was difficult to drive in that morning LA traffic. By the time I had gotten to the stadium, I was beyond exhausted. I was surprised that there was only one other person at the downtown gate. Interesting. By the time the gates opened, there were only a handful of cars. There were a few people at the stadium gates when it opened but surprisingly not as many as I expected. They all arrived late.

The guys were taking batting practice.They came into the dugout afterwards. Most of them barely looked up. Andrew did look up and acknowledged me. He knows I’m his number one fan.
Charlie saw me taking pictures and gave me a big smile. I love Charlie.

Puig and Corey both stopped to sign an autograph for someone. I’m over autographs a long time ago.
Wonderful Andre stopped to talk. I thought I should go up to the club and eat since I was anticipating a crowd later on. There still weren’t many people in the stadium yet.

The food was amazing especially the Bulgogi chicken lettuce cups. I had to go back for seconds. The shrimp puttanesca also was delicious. The Ojai Farms roasted lamb also was yummy. It was served with wild forest mushrooms and seasoned with white wine, smoked red pepper, rosemary and grilled green onions. The salad consisted of mozzarella salad, Frisée and Upland watercress salad, gold quinoa salad and mushroom salad.
They were getting ready for the pregame festivities when I returned to the field.

My friends were early. The stadium was pretty empty even a few minutes before the game.
The best part of the game was that many of my favorite people were there.

And always new friends to be made.

Yaz did his usual prep: stretching, throwing and hydrating.Kenta Maeda also did his usual prep including his famous windmill.Orel Hersheiser was throwing out the first pitch. I thought he looked very handsome.The entire Dodger team was lined up on the field except the starting players. They came out one at a time to fireworks.DocHowieJustinCoreyPuigAdrianCharlieJocThen it was National Anthem time with all branches of the military presenting the colors.Most of the guys starting went out to the field to stretch and throw. The pictures look a little hazy because of the fireworks.Orel threw out the first pitch with Steve Sax catching.Yaz and Kenta made their way down the fieldThe guys kept stretching and doing their thing
There was a group of Spanish speaking guys who muscled their way to the front. I don’t think they even had baseline tickets. They stood by me and pretty much pushed Jack and his family out of their seats. When they were told that they were not supposed to be there, one of them said I know, get your hands off of me. Apparently they knew Puig and thought they had special privileges. I told one of them that they were in someone else’s seat, he glared at me and said he knew. Puig came over and talked to them ignoring everyone else. I was appalled at everyone’s rudeness. I don’t blame Puig but his friends were out of line. No wonder he gets into trouble if he has friends like that.

And there he went.
I talked to one of the ushers and she apologized. That really wasn’t the point. Rudeness is not excusable especially at other peoples expense.

Kenta got ready for the first pitch. I had my fingers crossed.First pitch.
The top of the first inning lasted a lifetime but no one scored.

In the bottom of the first, Justin walkedCorey hit a double scoring Justin 1-0.Then there was a review involving Joc when I thought he was hit by a pitch. It was overturned. I’m not surprised. I can’t figure out the umpire’s strike zone. There were many balls that were called strikes. It wasn’t just me because there were a lot of groans and boo’s throughout the game. I never think that the Dodgers get a fair shake when it comes to these reviews. They have lost so many when the replays are obvious.
By the 3rd inning, I was already having a sense of deja vu. The score was 1-4. The Dodgers get to postseason but rarely progress beyond winning the western division. The first two games were ugly. Kershaw was able to the win in the first game but wasn’t himself. The second game which I didn’t even want to watch was worse. Monday’s game was frustrating for fans to watch. Most left before the game was over.

The highlight of the game involved Carlos Ruiz who was pinch hitting in the 5th inning.

Joc had singled.Ruiz hit a bomb that scored Joc. The score became 3-4 which didn’t seem insurmountable.
The Dodger relief pitchers did their job keeping the Nationals from scoring any more runs. Then Kenley came into the game. That’s when it was over. Jayson Werth, an ex-Dodger, homered making the score 3-5. Murphy walked. Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch. Ryan Zimmerman doubled scoring Murphy and Harper. 3-7. That was when the stadium started to clear out. Rush hour traffic was better than being subjected to this torture. I’m not a coach but Kenley should have been pulled earlier. When he is not on his game, it will not right itself. Stripling came out in relief to continue the damage. I was already on the road when Heisey hit a sacrifice fly scoring Zimmerman making the score 3-8.

The game was an embarrassment. I heard many people telling me this was the first Dodger game they had watched. There was no offense to speak of. Our starting pitcher lasted only 3 innings. He probably should have been taken out earlier when it was obvious he didn’t have his stuff. Kenley should have been taken out earlier. Carlos Ruiz should have started since he can hit left handed pitchers. Kike probably should have been on the roster. He also can hit left handed pitchers. It is unfortunately well known that the Dodgers can’t hit left handed pitchers so teams are sure to use them. Tuesday’s game, the Nationals will use a right handed pitcher so maybe the Dodgers have a chance.

It is still up in the air who will be the starting pitcher for the Dodgers for the 4th game of this series. Many think it should be Kershaw. Those opposed say that it would be better to start him for the 5th game but there won’t be a 5th game if the Dodgers can’t pull off a win today. The other option is Julio Urias. He is 20 years old and has no postseason experience obviously.

The fact that the Giants swept the Dodgers in the last week of regular season play was a bad omen. Everyone made excuses but the Dodgers definitely smelled the place up during those games. That allowed the Giants to take a wild card spot. They are still plagueing us by beating the Cubs yesterday making today’s game another early game. They are predicting mild weather today however so hopefully that holds true.

I am hoping that the Dodgers can win today and go back to DC and win again. The odds are probably against that happening. I am proud of my Dodgers anyway. They won the Western Division for the 4th straight year. It has been a frustrating year but they came out on top despite all the injuries including their ace Kershaw. No one expected them to win it all.

Thanks for stopping by. Just keep root root rooting for the Dodgers. This may be the last day to do so this year. Hopefully not. GO DODGERS!!!!